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Sorry, I’ve been pretty inactive lately. So here is a quick update! Yesterday, my mom and I arrived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for my very first book weekend!

We sat with Heather Hildenbrand for lunch today and got some of her books! It was really fun. Then, we went to the book signing. Some of my books were signed, it was very exciting. We didn’t win any prizes, but the Tote bags we got were filled with books and other goodies, so that’s okay. I am so excited to start reading these books though!

Business is booming at Yeast of Eden. But with a deadly mystery taking overthe seaside town of Santa Sofia, the Mexican bread shop can’tpossibly leaven a killer’s appetite . . .

For once, Ivy Culpepper feels fulfilled. An apprenticeship at Yeast ofEden has opened her world to time-honored baking techniques underowner Olaya Solis’s guidance—as well as the freshest small-towngossip, courtesy of chatty regulars known as the Blackbird Ladies.Ivy even begins accepting that she and restaurateur Miguel Baptistamay never again rekindle their romance—despite the undeniabletension between them . . .

But she’s tied to Miguel again when his trusted produce supplier goesmissing. Old Hank Riviera’s financial troubles would make anyoneconsider running away forever. And with his relationship woes, thereare plenty of people who might want to see Hank disappear. As Ivy,with the help of her octogenarian sidekick, turns to the loose-lippedBlackbird Ladies for leads, she soon finds herself caught in a web oflies stickier than a batch of Olaya’s popular pastries . . .

The indefatigable Winnie Archer is a middle school teacher byday and a writer by night. Born in a beach town in California, shenow lives in an inspiring century-old house in North Texas and lovesbeing surrounded by real-life history. She fantasizes about spendingsummers writing in quaint, cozy locales, has a love/hate relationshipwith both yoga and chocolate, adores pumpkin spice lattes, is devotedto her five kids and husband, and can’t believe she’s luckyenough to be living the life of her dreams.

Finally free of her father, Kaya has the one thing that keeps her heartbeating—Luke.

Blissfully content in his arms, everything seems perfect…until theirworld isshattered by a deadly invasion. When an old ally comes to the rescue,Kaya wants none of it. She is devastated to learn the identity of herattacker, and that she must do something truly heartbreaking if shewants to save the ones she loves. Sacrificing everything and sinkinginto bottomless sorrow, Kaya finds solace in an unlikely friend—onewho shows her a different kind of love, and helps her discover aninner strength she never thought possible.

A heart-pounding journey of self-discovery, Nocturne isthe transformative second installment of

Kidnapped and held hostage in the Rockies, a teenage heiress falls for herabductor while her corrupt father and devoted bodyguard fight to gether back. The discovery of true love and dark family secrets turnsdeadly in this epic coming of age adventure.

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Kaya Lowen dreams of living like anormal eighteen-year old, but beingheiress to a billion-dollar company has put her life in constantdanger. Fiercely guarded by her powerful and corrupt father, shedevelops close bonds with those who protect her, especially Oliver –a bodyguard who has proven his devotion to her time and again. Hewins her heart – until a chance encounter with a mysterious strangerhas her questioning everything she believes in. Haunted by true loveand reeling from a guilty conscience, Kaya’s world unravels whenshe’s kidnapped. Held captive in a rugged wilderness fraught withraging storms, mystical caves and deadly predators, Kaya’s fatherscours the forest and her bodyguard fights to get her back. But, thediscovery of a dark family secret makes Kaya wonder if staying in thearms of her blue-eyed abductor—a captivating stranger with darksecrets of his own – is a safer place to be. At least, that’s whather heart is telling her, her head is saying run…

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An epic adventure centered on a smoldering love-triangle, Serenade singsa timeless tale of courage, self-discovery, and life-or-death lovethat will leave you breathless.

Heather McKenzie is the Canadian author of Serenade, book one of TheNightmusic Trilogy. Also a professional singer/songwriter with fivealbums to date, she has been telling stories through music for yearsand pulls from her extraordinary experiences as a musician to fuelher passion for creating Young Adult fiction. A rocker at heart, amom of three, an aspiring painter and a lover of animals, she is keptgrounded by her husband at their home in Edmonton.

After Trina’s beloved dog dies, she swears she’ll never get anotherone. But then she learns about service dogs, and realizes that if shebecomes a puppy raiser, she could train puppy after puppy and neverworry about them dying. But like all great ideas, this one has aserious flaw: her first service puppy must be returned to his kennelat the end of their week-long summer vacation. And saying goodbye toSydney is going to be much tougher than she ever imagined.

Trina’s last week with Sydney is made that much harder by her newly strainedfriendship with her best friend, Sarah, who’s become soover-the-top boy crazy that she’s almost like a stranger. Sarah isdetermined to have them hang out with every boy at the beach, butwhen a boy named Chase takes an interest in Sydney and Trina, it putsan even bigger strain on the friendship.

It’s hard enough to deal with losing Sydney, but now she may lose her bestfriend, too. And even if she manages to patch things up withSarah—and figures out what to do about Chase—she still must facea daunting decision: is she strong enough to take on another service puppy?

“Author Sheri S. Levy deftly taps adolescent themes of love, loss andfriendship through the added lens of a service dog’s life-changingeffects on her young trainer. A fresh twist on the familiarcoming-of-age tale. Well done!”

— Jennifer Leeper, author, Padre: TheNarrowing Path

“Trina’s foray into the world of boys, friendship, and fashion while focusingon the important task of training service dogs strikes just the rightbalance. This canine-inspired coming-of-age tale is a poignant butfun summertime story.”

Trina Ryan’s challenging summer starts offwith a puppy-fueled energyburst as she takes on another service dog for training—aneight-week-old black Labrador named Colton. And to help exploreanother dream, she’s taken a job at the barn next door in exchangefor riding lessons with the barn’s schooling horse. Before long,Trina butts heads with Morgan Hart, an ill-tempered but skilled riderwith a gorgeous thoroughbred named Knight.

Adding to the list of frustrations is the difficulty in maintaining along-distance relationship with Chase, her first boyfriend from lastsummer, while trying to deal with unwanted attention from a new boyin her puppy training class. At least best friend Sarah still has herback, but as Trina wearies of Morgan’s constant insults and herheartless treatment of Knight, she decides to use her dog trainingskills to look underneath Morgan’s hostile attitude and develop asense of trust.Slowly, Morgan’s angry shield cracks enough to where she’s able to sharea troubling family secret. Can Trina help Morgan confront her familyproblems and make a fresh start?“Levy is on sure ground in thisenjoyable page-turner for young adults.Readers see the world through the eyes of Trina Ryan, a freckle-facedredhead with a big heart for horses, service dogs, and people inneed. Trina learns some of life’s most important lessons: thatpeople are not always what they seem, growing up involves toughchoices, and a first crush can be more exciting than she everdreamed. Poignant, fun, and adventuresome.” — Peggy Jo Shaw, award-winning journalist, PR specialist, and bookauthor/editor“Starting Over is a book you’llwant to give your daughter. A story aboutbest friends, boyfriends, enemies, and how to handle them all. Throwin horses and puppies, and you have the perfect mix for anentertaining, self-evolving read.” — C. Hope Clark, author, Carolina Slade Mysteries and Edisto IslandMysteries“How do you help a friend andstay true to yourself? Trina Ryan’sstruggles to cope and regroup should ring true for teens. Most peopleprobably never dream so much is involved. Teens who love to readabout animals should truly enjoy Starting Over.” — Lisa Williams Kline, author, Eleanor Hill, Princesses of Atlantis,Write BeforeYour Eyes, and the Sisters in All Seasons series“There’s a lot going on in Trina’slife, but Levy weaves each threadseamlessly. I especially enjoyed the detail about how to train aservice dog, as well as her experience in the barn mucking outstalls, caring for the horses, and learning to ride. A must-read YAnovel for anyone who loves dogs and horses.” — Judy Sheluk, author, The Hanged Man’s Noose and Skeletons in theAttic“Dogs! Horses! Boys! Whatcould be better? An energetic puppy learning to bea service dog, a sweet-tempered horse, an absentee boyfriend, andTrina, the girl who has to make some difficult decisions about all ofthem. A lovely, thoughtful coming-of-age novel.” — Ellyn Bache, author, Kaleidoscope, The Art of Saying Goodbye, andSafe Passage

Goodreads * Amazon

Starting Over_with_Reviews from Creative Art Department on Vimeo.

Sheri, a California gal, moved to Greenville, SC, & taught specialeducation. Her goal was to instill the love of books. When Sheriretired, her students had created a desire for her to write. Shejoined SCBWI, & Dog Writers Association. After years of enjoyingEdisto Beach with her Aussie and Black Lab, it became the setting forher first YA novel, Seven Days to Goodbye. Seven Days to Goodbye involves a service dog connecting with a childwithautism, girls learning about the importance of friendships and tryingto keep theirs intact while flirting with guys for the first time. Aloggerhead turtle helps bring the girls together. The story has humorand plenty of puppy love in both varieties. The second book in theseries will be, Starting Over.

When virtual reality surpasses people’s wildest dreams, many struggle toremain in the real world. Sixteen-year-old Ari has watched thefinancial and emotional cost of virtual reality addiction for yearsas her father continues barely existing in a VR coma. Unfortunately,her only option to help her family escape poverty is if she studiesthe one subject she hates and fears: virtual reality programming.

Despite her misgivings, Ari soon develops a rare talent that makes herquestion everything. Now she must hide her ability or risk becoming apriceless commodity that governments and corporations will fight,steal or even kill to possess. As officials tighten the shacklessurrounding Ari, she rebels against her imposed future and searchesfor a way to save those she loves. Yet, running proves impossible,when the government is always one click away.

DeAnna Brownegraduated from Arizona State University with her BS inPsychology. She finds it helps to corral those voices in her mind andput them to paper. Her debut novel, A DEMON RISING, came out inAugust 2017 with Black Opal Books and book two in the series, UNHOLYSUNDERING, is due out 2018. An avid reader and writer, she has a softspot for fantasy with a touch of romance. Despite her love for foodand traveling, she always finds her way back to Phoenix, Arizona withher husband, children, and pet dog.

Hearts of StoneDracula Hearts Book 1by AJ GallantGenre: YA Urban FantasyA tale of magic, romance, and fangs.New York City is under attack.Dracula is suicidal in a world where evil vampires are in the early stages of taking over. The Master has lived too long and can’t find a reason to face another day. Nasty vampires are feeding on vulnerable mortals and causing chaos. Years ago he trained valiant sheriffs and expects them to defend the humans but they are being overrun. Piers Anthony, the author, is now a vampire. He spends his days attempting to get the Master to snap out of it and to defend the humans, without losing his head. A 12-year-old girl is a rare hybrid, half human and half vampire; she was conceived the normal way, with her mother a mortal and her father a vampire. Jenny is slowly discovering that shemay be a blood wizard. She’s already an accomplished vampire killer and can cast spells, but an underground figure has noticed the girl. Some believe that she might be the one of legend that tips the scale toward good. Sheriff Alexander and his vampire German shepherd stand and fight for justice. Will the red sheriffs be overrun? Will Michael finally get the courage to ask out the sheriff?

~~♥~~~~♥~~Hearts of FireDracula Hearts Book 2Dracula: Hearts of Fire continues with more adventure, more romance and plenty of fighting. Jenny tries to find herself; she ventures out in search of training to become a better wizard and help save the world. Dracula is happier than he’s been in centuries but he’s now aware that big trouble is on the horizon. Things become even more complicated for Moon Diamond, the vampire cat. Humor abounds in Hearts of Fire.

~~♥~~~~♥~~Hearts of MagicDracula Hearts Book 5Deceit, revelations, and romance. It’s all in Dracula: Hearts of Magic. And a peek into Dracula’s origin. Something strange is happening in the Big Apple and it’s not good. Wolf-vampire hybrids are killing people and they may even be a match for Dracula. Jenny is sixteen and dating, or at least trying to but it’s not easy with the king of vampires for afather. And how do you discipline a 4-year-old wizard? Are there evil vampires out trying to kidnap Dracula’s boy? And Dracula’s daughter has a showdown with a witch as the spells fly.https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37804087-hearts-of-magichttps://www.amazon.com/Dracula-Hearts-Magic-Book-ebook/dp/B078S169QJ/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:A. J. Gallant is a best selling author who has written over a dozen books, mostly fantasy but some mystery as well. He has written the “of Knights and Wizards” series, Olivia Brown Mysteries, and the Dracula HEARTS series. He writes seven days a week and has written over a million words, some of them pretty good. Gallant has two cats that he dearly loves who get him up at five every morning, Sun-Jade (tabby) and Moon Diamond (Siamese).

The “of Knights and Wizards” series involves a coming-of-age tale of a young boy accidentally transformed into a sorcerer, and he must try to become adept in order to save his kingdom, and so far, things are not going too well.

High school senior, Mitch Houser, is thrilled to have multiple colleges recruiting him because of his record-breaking times on the track, butMitch hasn’t told anyone the real reason he’s been setting records.

He’s trying to outrun his girl problems.

He really hits it hard when Holly Isaacson, the girl next door and his best friend for a decade, becomes buddy-buddy with Jade Montgomery, who is Mitch’s latest crush. He wants to move Jade from a girl he invites to eat dinner with his family to a girl he takes out todinner—and maybe kisses afterward.

So Mitch runs, and he runs fast. Things progress with Jade at the same rate they fall apart with Holly. Most days, Mitch can’t change into his running clothes fast enough. But running from his problems isn’t a good solution, and Mitch will have to face both Jade and Holly—anddecide which one of them to put into the “just friends” category.

A girl who’s lost herself and the boy who’s always known how to find her.

When seventeen-year-old Eden Scotson skis to the bottom of a mountain on a routine trip with her older brother’s best friend, Grayson Young, they find the lift non-operational and the biggest storm of the season upon them.

Unable to stay in the tiny hut, they decide to make the climb back to the luxury condos at the top. Along the way, they have to battle the danger of an avalanche, the elements of wind and snow, and their feelings for each other. As Grayson deals privately with his mother’s alcoholism and an absent father, Eden’s grief over her father’s death nine years earlier is a little more public.

Compared to dealing with the complexities of friendship and more-than-friendship, overcoming grief, and learning how to forgive old wounds, physically climbing the mountain will be the easiest part of the journey for both Eden and Grayson.

A speculative fiction author and USAToday bestseller under the name Elana Johnson and an inspirational adult romance author under the pen name of Liz Isaacson, her work includes the young adult dystopian romance series Possession, published by Simon Pulse (Simon &Schuster), Elevated, the Elemental series, the Songs of Life fantasy series, the Redwood Bay romance series, and the #1 bestselling ThreeRivers Ranch Romance series.

Those of the Celtique Isles have a threat hanging over their heads, a threat of complete elimination. Only one girl can save them all, Ashlynn is the soon to be Queen of one of the Isle’s nations. One king, however, could be the downfall of the entire Earth. His plan is to destroy the Elemental dragons. Can Ashlynn save them all?

This book is very well written, and very descriptive. I have always loved fantasy and adventure, so I really liked this book. The dragons have hidden messages that they seem to portray, so look for that if you read this book. If you love fantasy, you may want to read this book and the sequels!

Besty, a candy-striper in a Virginia Hospital, lost her brother in Vietnam. She struggles to bring a mysterious veteran home. Said veteran cannot reveal his name, for it would ruin his image and long-lasting marriage.

This was beautifully written and very interesting to read. It shows how war affects both sides and how the grief affects them. I would definitely recommend this book. It was very interesting to me.

This is a short book of poetry. The poems go through her life, the good times and the bad. This book is a bit more mature, it goes through some more mature topics. So, just be warned. Overall, the poetry is well written.

I was a fan of this book, it highlights some problems girls go through every day. Overall the poetry moved me, it was emotionally moving in a way. I don’t really know how to describe it. I have always loved writing and reading poetry, and I was really happy when I was asked to review this book because poetry is one of my favorite things to write! I really enjoyed reading this book though.